Head coach Bruce Weber signed two of the Top 30 prospects from the state of Texas on Wednesday.

Nov. 14, 2012

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber announced the signings of Texas high school seniors Marcus Foster(Wichita Falls, Texas/Hirschi) and Wesley Iwundu (Houston, Texas/Westfield) on the first day of the Fall National Signing Day on Wednesday.

Weber made recruiting the state of Texas a high priority when he became head coach and that commitment proved successful, as both players rank among the Top 30 prospects in the state according to TexasHoops.com. Both high school teams are ranked among the Top 15 in their respective classes in the preseason.

“We’re excited to welcome Marcus and Wesley to our program,” said Weber. “Obviously, we are losing two perimeter players in Rodney (McGruder) and Martavious (Irving) in 2013, while we lost another guard to transfer this past summer, so it was important for us to focus our recruiting on getting some highly-skilled athletic wings into the program. We think they bring some versatility to our backcourt with different skill sets.”

A 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard from Wichita Falls, Texas, Foster comes to K-State from Hirschi High School, where he earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) all-state honors as a junior for head coach Donald Hedge in 2011-12. He helped the Huskies to a 24-7 overall record and a tie for first in Region 1, District 6. In addition to all-state honors, he was named the most valuable player of Region I, District 6.

“Marcus is a very talented and quick combo guard,” said Weber. “He has a great motor and is very, very active. I think he will score a lot of points for his high school team this year, as he can score in a lot of different ways whether it is on a 3-pointer or by driving to the basket. We like the fact that he took it upon himself to always guard the opposing team’s best player. He has great lateral movement and quickness and we think he can become a really good defensive player for us.”

Foster averaged a team-high 24.2 points on 56 percent shooting (235-of-419) from the field, including 40.3 percent (62-of-154) from 3-point range to go with 9.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in 27 games as a junior in 2011-12. He also connected 72.6 percent (122-of-168) from the free throw line. He led the Huskies in nearly every category, including points, field goals, 3-point field goals, free throws, rebounds, assists and steals. He collected 13 double-doubles in 2011-12, while he tallied 20 games of at least 20 points, seven games of at least 30 points and a season-high 40-point effort vs. Northeast on Nov. 29. He also registered one triple-double against Vernon (Texas) on Feb. 7 with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

Foster selected K-State over a number of scholarship offers, including those from California, Creighton, Lehigh, Oklahoma and SMU. He is a prominent member of the Dallas Mustangs AAU program led by Tony Johnson, which has produced a number of Division I players.

A 6-foot-6, 190-pound small forward from Houston, Texas, Iwundu comes to K-State from Westfield High School, where he helped the Mustangs to a 26-11 overall record as a junior for head coach Van Price in 2011-12.

“Wesley gives us great versatility in the backcourt,” said Weber. “He is a player that has grown five or six inches over the past year, year and half, so he has gone from a guard to a forward, but has still maintained the ability to handle the basketball. He has great length to go get the rebound, but has the skill set to really push it. He is a very, very good passer and shot blocker. He really has a good mindset of working and improving his game.

Iwundu recently was named as one of the Top 10 seniors outside the Rivals150, while he checked at No. 27 on the TexasHoops.com’s Top 100 players in the state of Texas, just 14 spots behind future teammate Foster.

Iwundu averaged 14 points and eight rebounds as a junior in 2011-12 for Westfield, which is currently ranked No. 6 in the Class 5A Preseason Poll by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC).

Iwundu selected K-State over a number of scholarship offers, including those from Brown, Drake, Lehigh, Nebraska, Colorado and Richmond. He plays for the Houston Defenders AAU team, where he played alongside several prominent Division I prospects.

K-State (3-0) returns to action on Sunday, as the Wildcats play host North Florida (1-1) at Bramlage Coliseum at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $15. The game will also be broadcast through the FOX Sports Midwest footprint as well as on FOX College Sports (FCS).